schilz



No. 607,958. Patented July 26, I898.

. F. SGHILZ.

PAPER FEEDING DEVICE.

(Application filed June 28, 1897.) (No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet I.

8 q e s nesses. B a Inventor.

1 g mwywd Attorneys ,0 m; NORRIS wzrzas co. FHOTO'LITHO. mumu'ron n. c.

No. 607,958. Patented July 26, I898. F. SCHILZ.

PAPER FEEDING DEVICE.

(Application filed Juiae 28, 18972) Witnesses. Inventor.

I ,g }%4' WM M Attorneys No. 607,958. Patented July 26, I898. F. SCHILZ.

PAPER FEEDING DEVICE.

(Application filed June 28, 1897.)

6 $heets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

Inventor.

Witnesses.

Attorney? wusnmafowu. c.

Patented July 26, I898. F. SCHILZ. PAPER FEEDING DEVICE.

(Appl t nfildJ n 28 1897) 6 Sheets-Sheet 4.

' (No Model.)

' .Inventor. M fl g Witnesses.

Attorneyd No. 607,958. P atented July 26, 18%. F. SCHILZ.

PAPER FEEDING DEVICE.

(Application filed June 28 1897.) (No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 5.

Attorneys Witnesses.

No. 607,958. Patented m 26, I898.

F. SCHILZ. V PAPER FEEDING DEVICE.

(Application filed June 28, 1897.) {No Model.) 6 Sheets-8heet 6.

i Inventor.

wi /M Attorney6 FRANK SOHI LZ, OF MILWAUKEE,

WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO HUGO LOEWENBAOH, OF SAME PLACE.

PAPER-FEED SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Application filed June28, 1897.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK SCHILZ, a citizen of the United States,residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State ofWisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Paper-FeedingDevices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in paper-feeding devices.

The objects of my invention are, first, to provide means for feedingsheets of paper singly and in succession from a pack; second, to providemeans for regulating the escape of the sheets, so that they will bedischarged at regular intervals; third, to provide means for adjustingthe feed mechanism for sheets of different thicknesses.

In the following description referenceis had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan View of my invention, showing thesame as it is connected with the feed-rollers of a ruling-machine. Fig.2 is a side view of the same. Fig. 8 is a front elevation of myinvention. Fig. 4 is a similar view showing my invention as it isadjusted for feeding envelops or narrow sheets of paper. Fig. 5 is asection View drawn on line 00 a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectiondrawn on line y y of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a cross-section drawn on line zzof Fig. 2. Fig. 8 isa detail showing a plan of the detention-plate,showing also a portion of the adjusting apparatus. Fig. 9 is across-section drawn on line a a of Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a cross-sectiondrawn on line 25 t of Fig. 8. Fig. 11 is a detail view showing thedetention-plate and 0f the adj usting-shafts in front elevation. Fig. 12is an enlarged detail view showing the friction-roller pack and frontend of the carriage in section drawn transversely of the roller to showthe manner in which the sheets are separated.

Like parts are identified by the same reference-figures throughout theseveral views.

The feed-controlling platform 1, frictionroller 2, and carriage 3 arearranged in such relation to each other as to support the pack of paperwith its forward or lower end engaged between the friction-roller andthe carriage, with the edges of the sheets in sub- ING DEVICE.

Patent No. 607,958, dated July 26, 1898. $erial No. 642,579. (No model.)

stantially vertical frictional contact with the platform and the rollerbearing upon the sheets along a horizontal line above the edges of thesheets and above the edge of the platform.

The. pack of sheets 3 is pressed firmly against the roller by thecarriage, and the roller by its resistance indents the pack. along theline of contact, thus causing the front sheets to bulge outwardly aboveand below the point of contact, while the friction of the platform tendsto retain the edges of the sheets in their original position. With thesheets in this position it is evident that a slight jar or push, such asis imparted by the movement of the roller or the forward push of thecarriage after the withdrawal of a preceding sheet, will individualizethe front or uppermost sheets along their lower edges by I causing themto spring away from the pack.

As the friction of the sheets upon the platform tends to detain them, itis also evident that as soon as the edge of the front sheet springs awayit escapes from contact with the platform and separates positively fromthe remaining sheets, which remain in contact therewith and are detainedthereby, while the front sheet is drawn downwardly over the edge by thefriction of the roller and discharged from the pack.

It sometimes happens that two or more sheets will individualize; but insuch case they will also separate from each other, for the sheet incontact with the roller will spring farthest away, while each of theremaining sheets will separate to a less distance from that whichprecedes it and will, when the device is properly adjusted, remain incontact with the platform until the first sheet is nearly orcompletelydischarged.

WVhere the sheets are of sufficient length to be bent over upon thecarriage, as shown in several of the views,:the bent position of thesheets facilitates the tendency of the first sheet to spring away fromthe pack, and it is possible in such case to effectively feed the sheetswith the roller located directly above the platform without referencetothe edge of the latter, as the first sheet will in such case spring awayso far as to cause its front edge to project underneath the rollersufficiently to feed along the surface of the platform, and thus permitthe roller to remove it from the pack as effectively as if the sheetsprojected over the edge. The roller is preferably formed of a metallicshaft provided with sleeves 2, covered with corrugated rubber 2 andsecured to the shaft by means of setscrews 2, which engage in alongitudinal channel 2 in the shaft. The front edge of the platform ispreferably provided with a metal bar or angularly -shaped casting lwhich can more easily be made to conform to a uniform standard of shapeand size than if the edge were wood.

Where my invention is used in connection with ruling-machines or otherprinting inachinery, the roller 2 may be actuated from the feed-roller 4of such machinery by means of a sprocket-chain 5 and gear-wheels 6and'7. I also find it convenient in such cases to support the feedmechanism from a stand or table 8, with the feed mechanism in a positionnear to and somewhat above the feedrollers of the machinery to besupplied with paper.

In feeding paper to ruling-machines it is desirable that the front endof each sheet be lapped over upon the rear end of the one preceding it,as such machines are provided with a device commonly termed a gate,which is calculated to temporarily engage with and detain the overlappedsheet in order to separate the sheets to a uniform distance from eachother. I have therefore provided a shelf 9, adjustably secured to aslotted bracket 9 by means of thumb-screws 9, and a lower fixed shelf10, the shelves being so arranged that the sheets are fed by the roller2 downwardly and forwardly over the shelves 9 and 10 to theruling-machine. The roller 2 is geared to feed the sheets at a morerapid rate than that at which they are taken by the ruling-machinefeed-rollers, and it is therefore obvious that as one sheet is beingdrawn into the ruling-machine from the shelf 10 its successor will befed down over shelf 9 with a more rapid movement, but its front end willbe temporarily held up by the shelf, so as to cause it to lap over therear end of the preceding sheet on shelf 10. As shelf 9 islongitudinally adjustable, its position can readily be shifted tofacilitate the discharge over it of sheets of different lengths andflexibility.

The carriage is supported from the stand 8 by a track-frame 11, which ispreferably adj ustably inclined, with its rear end supported by one ormore screws 12. 13 is a Weight attached to a tie-bar 14 of thetrack-frame 11 by a rope 16, which is passed over the de- In order thatthe sheets of paper may be fed at regular intervals, I have provided arocking detent-bar 19, supported on trunnions in a position parallelwith the front edge of the platform 1 and having a notched edge 21, theprojecting portions of which fit into counterpart notches in the edge ofthe platform. The notched edge of the bar is normally held in a positionwith the projections slightly above the surface of the platform by meansof springs 22, and the bar is rocked or oscillated to depress theprojections below the surface of the platform whenever it is desired topermit the discharge of one of the sheets. The object of the notches isto prevent the edge of the sheet from getting caught in the jointbetween the bar and platform. To oscillate the bar, motion iscommunicated thereto from the shaft of the friction-roller 2 through thegear-wheels 23, 24, and 25, shaft 26, and adjustable frictionpinion 27,friction gear-wheel 28,-striker or arm and lever 30. The lever 30 isrigidly secured to the bar 19, and as the strikerpin 29, which projectsfrom the gear-wheel 28, engages the arm 30 the lever 30 is therebydepressed to rock the bar, and thus lower its notched edge to or belowthe surface of the platform. When the lever 30 is depressed, the pin 28escapes from its engagement with the arm 30 and continues itsrevolution.

It is evident that the speed of the gearwheel 28 may be so regulated byadjusting its actuating-pinion 27 upon the shaft 26 that the successiveengagements of the striker-pin with arm 30 will correspond with theintervals at which itis desired to release the sheets.

In order to adapt my device for feeding sheets of paper of differentthicknesses and quality, I have provided means for adjusting theplatform 1 both longitudinally-and vertically. The longitudinal movementis communicated directly to the platform from a right and leftscrew-threaded shaft3l, provided with screw-blocks 32, having pins 33,projecting into diagonally-slotted guide-yokes 34:, connected with theplat-form, as best shown in Fig. 8. It is obvious that as the shaft isturned the blocks will be forced to the right and left, respectively,and the movement of the pins in the yokes will crowd the platform to thefront or rear, according to the movement of the blocks inwardly oroutwardly upon the shaft. In order to raise the platform 1, it is,however, necessary to lift also the tracloframe and carriage, and forthis purpose I have provided an adjusting-shaft 35 with right-and-leftscrew-blocks 36, having pins 37 projecting into the diagonallyslottedyokes 38, located on the cross-bar 39 of the lower end of thetrack-frame 8. With this construction the movement of the blocksinwardly or outwardly is communicated to the track-frame to raise orlower it, together with the carriage and feed-controlling platform. Asthe friction-roller 2 is supported IIO from the stand by the'fixedbrackets 40, it is evident that the movement of the platform 1 willincrease or diminish the space between the edge of the latter and theroller. This space is increased for heavy or highly-elastic paper anddiminished for thin or soft paper.

In order to prevent the platform 1 from shifting laterally, I haveprovided it with a depending inVerted-U-shaped channel-iron 41, disposedlongitudinally and adapted to fit over a flange 42, projecting upwardlyfrom the track-frame.

For feeding sheets of different \vidthsl have provided the carriage witha transverse slot 43, in which side guards 44 are secured by means of abolt 45 and thumb-screw 46. The guards are adapted to hold the sheets ina compact block and prevent them from shifting laterally.

It will be understood that while in the fore-j going description I haveused the term caradjusting mechanism may be omitted whenthe device'isused for feeding sheets of substantially uniform size, quality, andthickness and also that the detent-bar may be omitted where it is notnecessary to discharge the sheets at precise intervals.

The operation of my device is described as follows: The carriage isdrawn backwardly and the pack of sheets placed on end between it and theroller, the carriage being then permitted to press forwardly to engagethe sheets between it and the roller, and the sheets, if of sufficientlength, being bent over and permitted to rest upon the carriage. Thefeed roller 2 is then actuated to draw out a few sheets and the platformadjusted longitudinally with reference to the elasticity of the paperuntil it is observed that the front sheet will spring awayfromtheplatform promptly as soon as the detent-bar is lowered, leavingthe second sheet still in engagement with the platform. The platform isadvanced for the more elastic grades of paper and retracted for thosewhichpossess little elasticity. If the paper is comparatively inelastic,the platform may also be adjusted vertically to bring it closer to thefeed-roller, thus bringing the line of roller-pressure nearer to theedges of the sheets and increasing within certain limits the. tendencyof the sheets to spring away. Care must be taken, however, not to adjustthe platform too closely to the roller for if the latter bears upon thesheets in close proximity to their edges it will prevent them fromspringing away at all. When the platform is properly adj usted,thesheets are discharged in succession by turning the roller.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of a feed-controlling platform,a friction-rollerlocated in proximity to one edge thereof, means for actuating theroller, anda carriage adapted to engage sheets of paper between it andthe roller, with their lower edges in frictional contact with theplatform, and with the roller bearing upon the sheets along a line abovetheir lower edges, whereby the carriage cooperates with the platform andwith the roller acting at a point above the lower edges of the sheets,to cause the latter to separate at their lower edges and spring awaysuccessively from contact with the platform.

2. The combination of a feed-controllin g platform,a fric Lion-rollerlocated in proximity thereto, and a carriage adapted to engage sheets ofpaper between it and the roller, with the upper ends of the sheets bentover and supported horizontally upon said carriage, and their loweredges in frictional contact with the platform, whereby the sheets arecaused to successively spring away from contact with the platform, intoa position to be withdrawn by said friction-roller.

3. The combination of a feed-controlling platform,a friction-rollerlocated in proximity thereto, a carriage adapted to engage sheets ofpaper between it and the roller, with their lower edges in frictionalcontact with the platform, a detent projecting above the surface of theplatform and adapted to retain the sheets thereon, and means fortemporarily depressing said detent at regular intervals to successivelyrelease the sheets.

4. The combination of a feed-controlling platform,a friction-rollerlocated in proximity thereto, a carriage adapted to engage sheets ofpaper between it and the roller, with their edges inv frictional contactwith the platform, a detent-bar located at the front edge of theplatform, and means for actuating said bar to raise and lower the samein relation to the surface of the platform.

5. The combination of a feed-controlling platform,a friction-rollerlocated in proximity thereto, a carriage adapted to engage sheets ofpaper between it and the roller, with their edges in frictional contactwith the platform, a detent located at the front edge of the platform,means for automatically raising the same above the platform, and meansoperated from the friction-roller for depressing the detent at regularintervals to permit the discharge of the paper.

6. The combination of a feed-controlling platform,a friction-rollerlocated in proximity thereto, a carriage adapted to engage sheets ofpaper between it and the roller, with their edges in frictional contactwith the platform,

ICC

a detent-bar located at the front edge of the platform, and providedwith a notched edge fitted to counterpart notches in the edges of theplatform, means for automatically raising the notched edge of the barabove the surface of the platform, and means operated from thefriction-roller for depressing the notched edge of the bar below thesurface of the plat form at regular intervals.

7. The combination of a feed-controlling platform, a friction-rollerlocated in proximity thereto, a carriage adapted to engage sheets ofpaper between it and the roller with their edges in frictional contactwith the platform, a bar located at the front edge of the platform,springs for automatically raising one edge of said bar above the edge ofthe platform, a lever connected with said bar, variable-speed gearingarranged to be actuated from the friction-roller and a striker-pincarried by said gearing for intermittently actuating said lever.

S. The combination of a feed-controlling platform, a friction-rollerlocated in proximity to one edge thereof, a carriage adapted to engagesheets of paper between it and the roller,with the edges of the sheetsin frictional contact with the platform, a bar located at the front ordischarge end of the platform with one edge above the surface of thelatter,means for depressing said bar at intervals to permit thedischarge of the sheets, and a shelf for holding up the ends of thesheets as they are discharged from the roller, whereby they are causedto lap over the preceding sheets.

9. The combination of a feed-controlling platform, a friction-rollerlocated in proximity to one edge thereof, a carriage adapted to engagesheets of paper between it and the roller,with the edges of the sheetsin frictional contact with the platform, and the upper ends bent overand supported upon the carriage, a bar located at the front or dischargeend of the platform with one edge above the surface of the latter, meansfor depressing said bar at intervals to permit the discharge of thesheets, a shelf for holding up the ends of the sheets as they aredischarged by the roller, and a second shelf for receiving thedischarged sheets, whereby the sheets escaping from the first shelf arelapped over those upon the second shelf.

10. The combination of a feed-controlling plat-form, a friction-rollerlocated in proximity to one edge thereof, a carriage adapted to engagesheets of paper between it and the roller with the edges of the sheetsin frictional contact with the platform, a shelf located at thedischarge end of the platform, and a second shelf located in front ofand below said first-mentioned shelf and adapted to receive the sheetsdischarged over the first-mentioned shelf, whereby the sheets aresuccessively lapped over each other at their rear ends.

11. The combination of a feed-controlling platform, a friction-rollerlocated in proximity to one edge thereof, a carriage adapted to engagesheets of paper between it and the roller with the edges of the sheetsin frictional contact with the platform, a shelf located at thedischarge end of the platform, means for adjusting said shelf withreference to the length of the sheets, and a second shelf located infront of and below said first-mentioned shelf and adapted to receive thesheets discharged over the first-mentioned shelf, whereby said sheetsare successively lapped over each other at their rear ends.

12. The combination of a feed-controlling platform, a friction-rollerlocated in proximity thereto, means for actuating the roller, a carriageadapted to engage sheets of paper between it and the roller, with theiredges in frictional contact with the platform, a vertically-adjustableframe for supporting said carriage and platform, and means forindependently adjusting the platform longitudinally.

13. The combination of a feed-controlling platform, a friction-rollerlocated in proximity thereto, means for actuating the roller, a carriagelocated upon an adj ustably-inclined track and adapted to engage sheetsof paper between it and the roller, with their edges in frictionalcontact with the platform, an independently-supported right and leftscrewthreaded shaft running transversely of the track-frame, andscrew-blocks located on said shaft and provided with pins engaging indiagonally-slotted yokes attached to a vertical surface on thetrack-frame, whereby the motion of the shaft is adapted to impart avertical movement to the track-frame.

14. The combination of a feed-controlling platform, a friction-rollerlocated in proximity thereto, means for actuating the roller, a carriagelocated upon an adjustably-inclined track and adapted to engage sheetsof paper between it and the roller, with their edges in frictionalcontact with the platform, an independently-supported adjusting-shaftand connections for raising the lower end of the track-frame, and asecond shaft supported in the track-frame and provided with connectionsfor adjusting the feed-platform longitudinally.

15. The combination of a feed-controlling platform, a friction-rollerlocated in proximity thereto, means for actuating the roller, and acarriage adapted to engage sheets of paper between it and the rollerwith their edges in frictional contact with the platform, an adjustingscrew-threaded shaft running underneath said platform, right-and -leftscrew-blocks located on said shaft,diagonally-' slotted guides locatedon the under side of said platform, and pins projecting from thescrew-blocks and engaged in the slots of said guides whereby themovement of said shaft imparts motion to the platform at right anglesthereto.

16. The combination of a feed-controlling platform, a friction-rollerlocated in proxim ity thereto, means for actuating the roller, acarriage adapted to engage sheets of paper between it and the rollerwith their edges in frictional contact with the platform, an in-Verted-U-shaped channel-iron attached in a longitudinal position to theunder side of the platform, a flange projecting upwardly from thecarriage-supporting frame, and engaged in the channel of said bar, andmeans for ad- 10

